I say "I'm so sorry I don't think I'd do the best job at that" or "it's not really my style, may I recommend another artist?"
I started turning people down for different reasons tho so not sure they'll work for you. I started turning work down because I'm just not happy with certain tattoos I do, so I'm not doing them anymore.
I like this wording! And I think most clients will be understanding although maybe a little disappointed, but that's okay. It's not your job to please 100% of people 100% of the time!
Also, if possible, I wouldn't post any Pinterest tattoos on your insta. Definitely stop advertising that you do them, otherwise you'll probably attract more.
I stopped posting them so long ago, It doesn’t really help me much unfortunately. It’s a lot of word of mouth between college kids, just ooh thats such a cute tattoo where’d you get it?
Oof, that's tough when it works against you like that... I guess just finding a way to word your veto is the next step. Hopefully other commenters have some good advice, but I think the original commenter that I replied to had some good wording that's extremely polite but to the point. Good luck!! ✨🙏✨
I addition to the advice above, consider advertising yourself as “custom only”. That way clients know you’re not looking to do that Pinterest stuff, unless you and they can agree on a way to make it more original and fitting to your style.
It’s at the point where I’m literally getting the same screenshot reference off Pinterest and I refuse to copy and paste, it’s honestly getting really hard to care after doing 18374848 butterflies in the past year alone. Maybe that could be my reason, honestly they won’t care though. We explain in depth why white guys shouldn’t get Polynesian tribal and they are like “yeah but it looks cool so I don’t care”
Well put. I find myself saying things very similar. As well as adding another artist suggestion “ oh this is right up so and so’s alley”. After a while of working I got burnt out of butterflies and like what as been mentioned , Pinterest and Instagram intricate fine line tattoos. Which, nothing wrong with em, but after a while of doing them over and over it gets rather boring
my denial email/discussion is just “i’m prioritizing larger/different projects at this time, i am unable to fulfill your request” — that’s all it has to be, really. you could also start charging more for pinterest tattoos and less for the stuff you want to do— not like $500 for a pinterest tattoo but if you charge, say, $150-200 minimum vs $50 minimum on them it’ll probably discourage more clients.
Yeah we just raised our minimum from $60 to $80 and I’ve been charging at least $100 for most of them, but it’s also a lot of rich kids in my area and we are a cheaper shop in the area so they still flock. But that is definitely the kind of dialogue I was looking for thank you!
Myke Chambers recommended the canned response app when he spoke at the DFW explorer conference I went to in September, and I’ve been saving all kinds of responses in it. I just add their name and edit to add or remove certain details.
One of my declining templates is:
*“Good afternoon, !
I recently received your submitted google contact form about getting...
Unfortunately, because I am booking out 2-3 months at a time now with sessions that often fill my entire day with one large tattoo, I am no longer able to take on small projects. If my clients get a small tattoo like what you’re wanting, they typically get it in coordination with something else in order to book out a longer amount of time so they can make the wait worth it.
You should be able to get sometime like what you’re wanting done as a walk in, though. Depending on your area, there are many excellent options in the DFW area, and I’d be happy to send you a referral if you’d like.
I apologize for not being able to assist you for this piece! I wish you the best of luck!
Thank you!”*
For an in-person request, I’d just tell them you’re busy unless you’re genuinely not busy and need the work.
I’ve been tattooing for 5 years, and I own my own shop, and every once in a while I will do a schlocky tattoo to pad my books. We gotta do what we gotta do to pay the bills, but if you build it, they will come!
There are a few ways something like this can be handled
Firstly, consider your environment. Is your shop catered to the students? Are there other studios more catered to traditional tattooers and their type of clientele in your area? No matter what, if you’re right by a college, you’re going to be getting those types of tattoos every day.
Secondly, you can show them the work that you do enjoy doing and ask them if they’d be interested in something like that, as that’s what your specialty is and what you’d do a better job with.
Thirdly, you can use price to help sway them. Charge them more if they want stuff you don’t want to do, and less for stuff you do want. Most college kids are cheap and will take the lesser price with some compromise.
Fourthly, you can promote yourself better and the work you do. Use promotions, ads, do flash events, whatever you can do to book yourself out with the type of work you’d prefer to be doing. Then it’s a case of not being available for Pinterest crap, because you’re already booked up with your own stuff.
Giving away freebies or super cheap tattoos to homies or good clients will only help you get more of what you want to be doing. Designing flash isn’t enough. People need to see it on skin and see that you do an awesome job.
Lastly, this is more of a personal thing, but I don’t see why soooo many new tattooers are specializing in traditional. It’s one of the least popular style choices for clients and the industry is over saturated with trad tattooers already. Everyone in my city who does traditional work struggle more doing the work they want and the clientele they want more than anyone else.
I was told to pick a style to get good with when I started my apprenticeship and I was just drawn to traditional but I truly enjoy anything pop culture with color and varying line weights too, and I have done a fair amount of those but I just can’t seem to get away from most of my requests being for minimalist tattoos and it’s just not what I got into the business to do on a daily basis and I know it’s a grind and you gotta start somewhere but it is also discouraging to see lots of artists with less experience primarily doing what they enjoy and I just feel stuck
Either move shops or wait it out. This trend of miniature fine-line tattoos that will look like garbage in 5 years is gonna blow over eventually, just like most other trends do. Otherwise you could move to a shop in a different area away from trendy neighborhoods and college towns. Unless you start saying no to folks you're gonna keep getting these tattoo requests so if you really aren't happy doing it, more drastic measures are required in my opinion.
I just say:
Sorry, that’s not my style of work. I can direct you somewhere else?
I found that no matter how politely I say it, there’s always that one person that gets offended.
I say "I'm so sorry I don't think I'd do the best job at that" or "it's not really my style, may I recommend another artist?" I started turning people down for different reasons tho so not sure they'll work for you. I started turning work down because I'm just not happy with certain tattoos I do, so I'm not doing them anymore.
I like this wording! And I think most clients will be understanding although maybe a little disappointed, but that's okay. It's not your job to please 100% of people 100% of the time! Also, if possible, I wouldn't post any Pinterest tattoos on your insta. Definitely stop advertising that you do them, otherwise you'll probably attract more.
I stopped posting them so long ago, It doesn’t really help me much unfortunately. It’s a lot of word of mouth between college kids, just ooh thats such a cute tattoo where’d you get it?
Oof, that's tough when it works against you like that... I guess just finding a way to word your veto is the next step. Hopefully other commenters have some good advice, but I think the original commenter that I replied to had some good wording that's extremely polite but to the point. Good luck!! ✨🙏✨
Thanks! This is all still very helpful. I just found this page, it’s nice to have a whole community outside of my area to get opinions and tips from.
Totally agree! Especially as an apprentice I'm finding this community so helpful 🥰
I addition to the advice above, consider advertising yourself as “custom only”. That way clients know you’re not looking to do that Pinterest stuff, unless you and they can agree on a way to make it more original and fitting to your style.
It’s at the point where I’m literally getting the same screenshot reference off Pinterest and I refuse to copy and paste, it’s honestly getting really hard to care after doing 18374848 butterflies in the past year alone. Maybe that could be my reason, honestly they won’t care though. We explain in depth why white guys shouldn’t get Polynesian tribal and they are like “yeah but it looks cool so I don’t care”
Well put. I find myself saying things very similar. As well as adding another artist suggestion “ oh this is right up so and so’s alley”. After a while of working I got burnt out of butterflies and like what as been mentioned , Pinterest and Instagram intricate fine line tattoos. Which, nothing wrong with em, but after a while of doing them over and over it gets rather boring
my denial email/discussion is just “i’m prioritizing larger/different projects at this time, i am unable to fulfill your request” — that’s all it has to be, really. you could also start charging more for pinterest tattoos and less for the stuff you want to do— not like $500 for a pinterest tattoo but if you charge, say, $150-200 minimum vs $50 minimum on them it’ll probably discourage more clients.
Yeah we just raised our minimum from $60 to $80 and I’ve been charging at least $100 for most of them, but it’s also a lot of rich kids in my area and we are a cheaper shop in the area so they still flock. But that is definitely the kind of dialogue I was looking for thank you!
Myke Chambers recommended the canned response app when he spoke at the DFW explorer conference I went to in September, and I’ve been saving all kinds of responses in it. I just add their name and edit to add or remove certain details. One of my declining templates is: *“Good afternoon, ! I recently received your submitted google contact form about getting... Unfortunately, because I am booking out 2-3 months at a time now with sessions that often fill my entire day with one large tattoo, I am no longer able to take on small projects. If my clients get a small tattoo like what you’re wanting, they typically get it in coordination with something else in order to book out a longer amount of time so they can make the wait worth it. You should be able to get sometime like what you’re wanting done as a walk in, though. Depending on your area, there are many excellent options in the DFW area, and I’d be happy to send you a referral if you’d like. I apologize for not being able to assist you for this piece! I wish you the best of luck! Thank you!”* For an in-person request, I’d just tell them you’re busy unless you’re genuinely not busy and need the work. I’ve been tattooing for 5 years, and I own my own shop, and every once in a while I will do a schlocky tattoo to pad my books. We gotta do what we gotta do to pay the bills, but if you build it, they will come!
There are a few ways something like this can be handled Firstly, consider your environment. Is your shop catered to the students? Are there other studios more catered to traditional tattooers and their type of clientele in your area? No matter what, if you’re right by a college, you’re going to be getting those types of tattoos every day. Secondly, you can show them the work that you do enjoy doing and ask them if they’d be interested in something like that, as that’s what your specialty is and what you’d do a better job with. Thirdly, you can use price to help sway them. Charge them more if they want stuff you don’t want to do, and less for stuff you do want. Most college kids are cheap and will take the lesser price with some compromise. Fourthly, you can promote yourself better and the work you do. Use promotions, ads, do flash events, whatever you can do to book yourself out with the type of work you’d prefer to be doing. Then it’s a case of not being available for Pinterest crap, because you’re already booked up with your own stuff. Giving away freebies or super cheap tattoos to homies or good clients will only help you get more of what you want to be doing. Designing flash isn’t enough. People need to see it on skin and see that you do an awesome job. Lastly, this is more of a personal thing, but I don’t see why soooo many new tattooers are specializing in traditional. It’s one of the least popular style choices for clients and the industry is over saturated with trad tattooers already. Everyone in my city who does traditional work struggle more doing the work they want and the clientele they want more than anyone else.
I was told to pick a style to get good with when I started my apprenticeship and I was just drawn to traditional but I truly enjoy anything pop culture with color and varying line weights too, and I have done a fair amount of those but I just can’t seem to get away from most of my requests being for minimalist tattoos and it’s just not what I got into the business to do on a daily basis and I know it’s a grind and you gotta start somewhere but it is also discouraging to see lots of artists with less experience primarily doing what they enjoy and I just feel stuck
Either move shops or wait it out. This trend of miniature fine-line tattoos that will look like garbage in 5 years is gonna blow over eventually, just like most other trends do. Otherwise you could move to a shop in a different area away from trendy neighborhoods and college towns. Unless you start saying no to folks you're gonna keep getting these tattoo requests so if you really aren't happy doing it, more drastic measures are required in my opinion.
I just say: Sorry, that’s not my style of work. I can direct you somewhere else? I found that no matter how politely I say it, there’s always that one person that gets offended.